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arXiv · 2405.11262

Vacuum polarization in molecules I: Uehling interaction

D. J. Flynn·I. P. Grant·H. M. Quiney
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Abstract

Radiative corrections to electronic structure are characterized by perturbative expansions in $\alpha$ and $Z\alpha$, where $\alpha$ is the fine-structure constant and $Z$ is the nuclear charge. A formulation of the leading-order $\alpha(Z\alpha)$ Uehling contribution to the renormalized vacuum polarization is reported in a form that is convenient for implementation in computational studies of the relativistic electronic structures of molecules. Benchmark calculations based on these methods are reported that include the leading-order vacuum polarization effects within relativistic mean-field methods for the E119$^+$ ion and the closed-shell diatomic species E119F.

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D. J. Flynn, I. P. Grant, H. M. Quiney. 2024-05-18. Vacuum polarization in molecules I: Uehling interaction. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.11262

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